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A Radical Solution, or "a piece of junk"?... [PIC]

Rich Sufficool · 2023-05-14T20:23:50Z

By 1975, FIA rules limited the width and height of front air dams leaving the front wheels in normal configuation, outside and above the dam. The Tyrell team calculated that to keep the wheels behind the front end, the largest wheel would be only 10". A 10" wheel wouldn't provide a proper footprint for steering and braking. So, double up and you have the first 6 wheeled F1 Car. The first prototype had to be redesigned when the FIA banned overhead air boxes, so the first Elf Team Tyrrell P34 made its debut in 1976 with enough success that Tyrrell had three more built. In 1977, they were ready to hit the tacks in earnest with their two drivers, Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler, who, at the Swedish Grand Prix placed first and second with Scheckter being the only driver to win in a 6-wheeler. On smooth tracks, the P34 was deadly, but in bumpier tracks like Brands Hatch and the Nurburgring, it was hard to keep more than one wheel on the ground.While Depailler loved the car, Scheckter called it "a piece of junk" and then left the team. Tyrrell hired Ronnie Peterson as a replacement. For the following year, the P34 had to be structurally redesigned for aerodynamics as well as Peterson's height. The resultant P34B weighed 190 lbs more and its performance suffered. Widening the front suspension for better handling brought the tires outside the dam negating any benefit from having 4 driven wheels, so for 1978, Tyrrell went back to 4 wheels. He kept Scheckter's frame and sold the rest. Other manufacturers began toying with the 6 wheel configuration so the FIA banned the 4 driven wheels concept in 1983. There are slew of P34 models on the market in scales from 1/43 to 1/12, but for my money, the venerable Exoto beats them all. The replication of the 3.0 liter Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 and the car's intricate suspension is just a thing to behold.

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Christopher Moroni

(@chris)

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Joined: 30 years ago

Posts: 23656

17/05/2023 4:44 am

@marty-johnson Sorry to hear that an earthquake destroyed the model, but I must ask about your decal comment. Just what exactly deemed them "horrible?" The design? Where they not opaque? I've used decades-old decals without consequence; as long as they're stored properly, they'll last seemingly indefinitely.

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Marty Johnson

(@marty-johnson)

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Joined: 6 years ago

Posts: 27190

20/05/2023 11:04 am

@chris - Tamiya makes unbelievably great assembly kits. The attention to detail and the quality of the pieces and instructions are the industry standard to which all other plastic model companies should be compared. However, no company or product is perfect all the time in every area. The decals were not as opaque as they should have been, and after application, the color did not pop as they should have. Further, time made them brittle, and they started to peel. However, in defense of Tamiya, perhaps I should have sprayed the entire model in clearcoat which would have solved the brittle peeling problem.

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